The Evening Star. MONDAY, JUNE 26, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4159, 26 June 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star. MONDAY, JUNE 26, 1876.

Mr Fitzherbert, as Superintendent of Wellington, has issued a review of the general results of the administration of affairs in that Province under the Provincial system, during the twenty-three years the system has been in force. It is a wel'-written document, abounding in facts and figures directed to the end which the writer seeks to attain, while idle discussion on political topics is strictly avoided. Mr Fitzherbert, with much propriety, deals with the Provincial administration as a whole without making any distinction between the labors of different Governments. Other persons will, however, reflect how large a share of the successes which he details must be ascribed to bin own enlightened policy, carried out by a vigorous fixe cufcive. At the close of Br Featiißoston's long tenure of office, the stale of Wellington was lamentable to the last degree. AH 1 public works were practically stopped • the pay of theofficials—even of the men—was months in arrear; and the coun try districts, which Dr Featherston had Btudiously ignored, were bitterly discontented. Owing to the low price of wool and other circumstances, trade was extremely depressed the Colony, so that J)r was not wholly to blame for the ' , °% funds in the Provincial By-' ' ek , ot he is undoubtedly o ' x -««eqnor; but than which «"' -«i'fttor, and the change .•up&rveaed upon Mr Fiizobe-

Bert being elected Superintendent proved the truth of the old adage about Heaven helping those who help themselves. Mr Fitzhbrbert'B policy has always been to spend as much money as possible in opening up new or in thinly settled districts, and therein he has shown himself a true coloniser j but this method of appropriation has naturally not met with the invariable approval of the settlers in the more thickly populated localities, who have, however, never been strong enough in the Provincial Council to oust the Executive from office. The prime difficulty with the Provincial Government of Wellington has been the want of money, not for luxuries, but for absolute necessaries; and the amount of odium Mr Fitzherbert incurred through his persistent demands upon the Assembly for the privilege of raising loans for special objects would have deterred most men from the course which he had chalked out for himself. His reputation for intrigues likewise stood in the way, and only an invincible determination, backed up on two or three eccasions by the Bupport of Sir Julius Voqel as Minister, could have made the House grant, to a certain extent, the borrowing powers which it waß asked to give. Its reluctance was perfectly justifiable, but the money so obtained has been wisely used, Under the eleven new have been created in the x rovmc3, and out of a total of sixI teen towns all but two have had a municipal form of Government conferred upon them. Road Boards have been established, with large powers. All the rivers in the Province, where the land is under the oontrol of the Provincial authorities (for nearly twothirds of it still belongs to the Maoris), have either been bridged or contracts entered into for the construction of bridges over them; while 835 miles of road have either been made or are in course of formation, 449 miles of which have already been metalled. As to surveys, a major triangulation has extended over 3,500,000 acres, and a minor triangulation within the foregoing, over 2,500.000 acres. 1,750,000 acres have likewise been sectionally surveyed. A Board of Education has been called into existence, and there are now seventy-four schools open in the Province, attended by 4,140 pupils; while a college has been established in the City of Wellington. A well supported lunatlo asylum has been erected, a. fine wharf built at Wellington, and a patent slip constructed in the same port under guarantee. These works, although of considerable magnitude, do not appear very striking when compared with those executed by the Provincial authorities in Canterbury and Otago, but the vast difference in the respective resources of the Provincial Governments must be borne in mind. From first to last, the Wellington Government has only had £1,595,204 to spend, including loans and ordinary revenue, whereas for the year 1875-6 alone the income of the Otago Government was £589,100. Poverty has perhaps engendered virtue in the Wellington Government, and prevented its running into those administrative extravagances which have so often brought reproach upon Provincial institutions ; for an analysis of the disposition of the £1,595,204 shows that a commendable frugality has been exercised in the Government departments. The amount has been spent thus (omitring shillings and pence) : Officers of Government, £56,926 ; Provincial Council, £28,565 j judicial and police, £132,246 ; education and charitable, £114,885; immigration, public works and undertakings, £1,262,581. To use Mr Fitzherbert's words, "in mercantile language, the coßt of management has only averaged about 3£ per cent." That, however, is exclusive of the expenditure upon the Provincial Council, which ought fairly to be reckoned in ; but even then the cost of administration cannot be deemed to have been excessive.

What may be termed the unsecured liabilities of the Province amount to £232,675 j and it also owes £241,000 covered by mortgages upon land.. It is only the former debt about which the Colony need trouble itself in the event of the abolition of Provincial institutions being consummated; and to meet this liability the Superintendent calculates upon the following assets :—860,000 acres of Crown land, worth 10s an acre, £430,000 ; beneficial interest in land in course of reclamation, £30,000; Provincial buildings, for which an offer has been made of £25,000; altogether, £485,000. "That is to say," adds Mr Fitzherbert, 'to use a trade expression, the estate of the Province of Wellington will, if wound up, be able to pay Upwards of forty shillings in the £, which cannot be regarded as an unsatisfactory result of the assignment of an estate bought under compulsory sequestration." The creditors of an estate brought Under compulsory sequestration commonly find that while the debtor's liabilities tully reach the amount at which he estimated them, his assets exhibit a marked tendency to declension: but we apprehend that, although Wellington might not bo able to pay 40s in the pound, s he has ample means to satisfy b^ r creditois and leave a handsome oa i ;mce to her credit. The statement made'by Mr Kitzherbert is satisfactory iu a financial aspect, and it is a perfectly fair one, revealing of course the bright side of Provincial administration, but still confined to facts. That the working of Provincial institutions has not given unmixed

satisfaction to all parts of the Province, notably Rangitikei and Wanganui, is notorious j but to discuss why or wherefore would lead us into well-trodden fields, which we have no desire to reexplore just now.

Mr Robert Wilson, storekeeper, has been appo ated postmaster at Caversham. Thore wore no football matches played on Saturday afternoon, owing to the unfavorable weather. The skating rink at the Oddfellows' Hall was opened on Saturday t-fternoon, and t. I ! ere was a good attendance of experienced skaters and n >vices. This amusement promises to be very popular. The ' Mount Ida Chronicle' spreads the novel report that English private advices state that Sir George Grey is the real author of "Ginx's Baby." Sir George and the publisher are personal friends. The Campbeltown co-respondent of the ' Southland News' Btates that Captain Thomson, harbor master at the Bluff, has discoveroda newinvention—amethod for raising heavy weights to any height, and that steps have been taken to obtain letters patent for the protection of the interests of the inventor. At the Port Chalmers Police Court this morning, befors Mr T. A. Mansford, R.M., John Barry, John M'Phee, John Patton, and George Everett, charged with drunkenness, after receiving a severe reprimand, were discharged with a ciution. Patrick Murphy, for a similar offence, having been bailed out, was fiued ss, with the usual alternative. Walter Cooper's New Zealand drama of "Hazard" was produced at the Queen's Theatre on Saturday evening to a good attendance. Mrs Walter Hill, as Eva Dyceton, was very natural and successful, and with Mr Keogh, as Jake, carried off the chief honors. Two scenes which had been especially prepared for this play were introduced, representing Princes street by moonlight, looking toward the Post Office, and the harbor, with a small steamboat crossing, and tidal effects. The artist, Mr Willis, had twice to bow his acknowledgments to the audience, who were vociferous in their applause. The play, which is supported very well all round, will be again produced this evening. On theTuapekabianoh line the damage done by the floods is serious. The ballasting has been shifted in a few places, and slips have occurred in some of the cuttings. The 'Times' stateß that at the Round HiU tunnel the big Blip has been accelerated in its fall, and the roadway adjoining shows signs of precip tating itself into the open cutting below. At the WoolBhrd, a siding constructed by Messrs Smyth and '.'o., to convey ballast from the creek, has tnen entirely submerged, and the loss to the contractors will be considerable. Seveial persons had narrow escapes owing to the water coming down in the night. The loss of stock will, it is supposed, be something considerable. A young man named Francis Moulding, an immigrant by the Caitlooh, came to a sad end on Friday last. He was much given to drink and on Monday was sentenced to three days' imprisonment for drunkenness, having been found lying across the railway line near Hanoyer street. He was in a very delicate state from the effects of his debauch, and Mr Caldwell' freed him from doing any hard work. On the morning of the 22nd inst., when his sentence expired, both the ■ Governor and Gaol Chaplain urged him to go to the Hospital; but Moulding refused, and, after walking a short distance with Mr Torrance, suddenly ran into an hotel, and recommenced drinking. Subsequently he was persuaded to go to the Hospital, where he was found to be suffering from heart disease, and died on the evening of his admission. Deceased was a medical student by profession, twenty-two years of age, and a native of Worcester. The district between Biverhead and Helensville, in the Province of Auckland, possesses abundance of pheasants, but it is also infested with wild cats. These animals are the progeny of tame cats brought into the district by settlers, who, after living in the neighborhood for some time, took their departure for other places, leaving their feline friends behind them entirely unprovided for. The cats being thrown upon their own resources, however, proved themselves equal to the emergency, for making the diacoVery that young pheasants (of which plenty are to be found in the proper season) were agreeable and nutritious food, they took to living on them. Gradually becoming bolder and more skilful, the hunting cats made the older birds their prey, ana now even the cock pheasants are. pounced upon and killed with great facility. The ' Herald' understands that a tabby was shot the other day which would in every respect haVo compared Very favorably with any other in the Colony. It was like a small tiger. The Ballarst correspondent of the ' Melbourne Argus' writes :—Rope-Walking must either be an accomplishment easily acquired, or our Australian youths mudt be wenderfully precocious and daring. Till Blondin came to Victoria he had no imitators; at least no successful ones. Since he has been here imitators have sprung up like mushrooms after an autumn rain, and some of these have even out-Blondined the rope king himself. The Blondin followers have hitherto been of the male persuasion only; but unless I am misinformed there ifl ft girl expected to raaVe a public exh bitiou of her powers on the rope or on a wire - it is all one to her —which is likely to throw all previous rope-walkers into the sharlft. Her parents strongly object to her exhibiting in publi", and it is doubtful if she will be able to overcome their scruples in that direction. She is said to h- ve a wonderful faculty of balancing herself on even a single wire, without using a pole, or anything but her outstretched arms, and rarely has she to resort; to '..hem for aid. She can walk, run, hop, or dance on the wire, and curry ;v weight equal to 401b on it, with as much apparent confidence as if she was en the floor of a room. * Te W\nanga' in its is ue of May 20th a:ive3 the first portion of the Treaty of Waitangi. The editor in alluding to its publication, introduces the subject thus :*— "After considerable search and many rebukes from the Civil Bervants of one of the unciyjl governments which ever wielded pcw<.r under the British Crown, we have becomed possessed of a fac sUiik of the various copies of the Treaty of Waitangi, part of which we shall give to our readers as we can find spatTP in °£ r issue each week. As there has been I T' ltuc 4 " speculation, and consequently much conv To^ erB X in respect to w at tribes and chie*. 1 * ot Now Zealand signed that treaty, *v*° shall, even against the charge of pro lixity, give verbatim each copy of the treaty as signed by the various tribes at their settlements at the different localities in New Zealand." The Auckland 'Herald' adds that this declaration of independence of Native chiefs of New Zealand, as m.uiy of our readers will recollect, was in 1835 during the office of the late Consul and administrator, Governor Hobson, and witnessed by Messrs Henry Williams, missionary; George Clarke, ditto; James R. Clendon, and Gilbert Hair- '

A correspondent informs us that the rain of ia'it night has done a vast amount of damage up the Water of Leith. At the bridge Above the falls, three miles from town, there are tons of trees p.led up against the bridge, and if not attended to they will destroy it. A dettioh«d five-roomed bouse in Cumberland street, owned by Mr T. Allen, seedsman, and occupied by Alfred Simmons, his gardener, was destroyed by fire shortly before eleven o'clock last night. Mr Simmons estimates his loss to furniture at about L4O, and was uninsurei. On retiring to bed Mr Simmons left a small fire and a lamp burning for Mr Allen's convenience, and the fire is supposed to have been caused by some of the cinders from the fireplace.

Under the heading " More of Mr Micawber's " 1.0.U.'s the' Southland Time*' utters the following complaint:—" The Makarcwa Road Board, like a large number of other public bodies and private persons, has received a letter from the Provincial UnderSecretary, apologising for not having money to pay the subsidy, but stating that it will be paid in a short time. Humbug of this kind is getting monotonous. Where has the misappropriated Southland money gone to ? Mr H. H. Lusk, M.H.R., is a chess player of some repute, and when ho arrived at Wellington from Auckland a few days ago he challenged the Wellington player who had distinguished himself most during the recent contest to me«t him The ' N.Z. Timea' states that Mr Benbow, of the City team, who won every match which he played against the Civil Service, has accepted the challenge, and this having been intimated to Mr Lusk, an interesting contest may shortly be expected. Owing to other attractions the Temperance Hftll popular oonaert en Saturday evening last was not so largely attended as usual. Mr Russell, a buffo vocalist, who made Mb first appearnnoe at these eoneerts. sang "The old Bachelor," and "The little grey old Man" in a very humorous style. Mr Hanscomb was scarcely so successful as usual in his "Dr Quack." Mien Polly Leake gave some songs and dances in her usual pleasing manner. Mr Carroll, \ir Dixon, and Mies Sheppard also took part.

The ' Southland Times' is informed that Professor Henri, of Invercargill, has instituted criminal proceedings against the pro prietors of the ' Southland News' for publishing a letter signed " Busybody," Insinuating that Mr Henri has misappropriated the money received at his " half-yearly demonstration" to his own personal use, instead of applying it to the purchase of prizes for the pupils of his school. Mr Wade has been retained for the prosecution. We understand that if t'.e name of the writer of the letter is given up he will take the place of Messrs Craig and Feldwick. On Thursday week a serious accident occurred in the sluicing claim of Messrs Cameron and Co., Bendigo Gully. This claim has been only lately started in the ground known as the deep sinking. A workman named James Moran was engaged directing the hose on to the face when a fall of earth took place completely burying up the poor fellow. Help was fortunately at hand and he]Vas almost instantly extricated from the debris and conveyed to tha Cromwell Hospital, where he now lies in a very precarious condition. Dr Stirling states that he is much injured internally, and the result is very doubtful. On Tuesday the ' Observer' heard that Moran was getting on favorably. Mr Dundas, a member of the Southland Waste Lands Board, has been requested by the Proviucial Executive to resign his mem ber hip Unless he attends the weekly meetings of the Board. Mr Dundas, who has been many years a member of the Board, maintains that he accepted the appointment by Mr Taylor, Superintendent of Southland, on condition that he attended monthly meetings only. He is willing to go ou as heretofore, but "if his Honor the Superintendent is not satisfied with the manner in which he has performed his duties,'' it is competent for him to- remove him, and he intends "to reply to the Provincial Executive to that effect." The Board passed a resolution practically supporting Mr Dundas. At a meeting of the Invercargill Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, the rabbit nuisauce was discussed on a motion by Mr Turnbull. Mr Harvey opposed it on the ground that he did not think the Chamber should commit itself to any action for the imposition of a general tax for the benefit of a particular class. He had been told by farmers that generally they were not affected by rabbits. Mr Perkins said that a large number of farmers in the Riverton district were perfectly able to deal with the rabbits, and they ridiculed the idea of any general action being taken. From inquiry he "believed there was no necessity for legislative interference. Air Turnbull's motion in favor of considering the question was carried, and the report of the Rabbit Commissioners was brought up but not considered. A petition was then read, but ultimately the further discussion of the question was postponed till to-morrow.

We bave received from Mr Belfield, Chairman of the Committee, papere > elating to the Timnru Breakwater. These include the report of a committee appointed by a public meeting at Timaru on April 28, with s atistics and copies of engineers reports.